Real Life? Who cares about that? I've got The Sims.

Gameplay: The Sims excels greatly in gameplay. Think you are just going to get going and stick it on fast speed, sit back, and relax? HA! In The Sims, if youre not on your toes, your probably on the floor. Your Sims are demanding. They need to go to the bathroom? Well dont always expect them to go straight to it. If they are hungry and need to relieve themselves. They may choose to eat first, resulting in a small little puddle on the floor (eww ). The Sims is a simple game to learn (especially with the beautiful tutorial Maxis stuck in), yet impossible to master. The gameplay of this game is smooth and realistic. Sims have individual lives, jobs, talents, etc Like real life, yet more fun and addicting.

Problems of this game? Not many, except for you need a pretty buff computer to run it (requirements say P200mhz, but have fun with that! I have PII400mhz, and it could use a little improvement on running faster.) Unless you cheat, which you may need to at some points (due to burglars and fires), this game is pretty difficult to have a huge home in. You start off in pretty much a shack, and you have to make it into a HUGE mansion if you want to be a famous Sim. Jobs? Yah we got jobs, and lots of em. Ten different categories of Jobs (look for my FAQ later on in March) and many levels in those. You start off at about 150 - 350 bucks a day. Sounds OK right? WRONG. A good TV costs $500! A couch around $400! Then you got the kitchen appliances, the bathroom, the bed! THIS STUFF COSTS MONEY PEOPLE! Luckily, you get a little cash head start at the beginning. I highly recommend a fire alarm and a burglar alarm. Unless, of course, you dont value that TV over there.GAMEPLAY RATING:10

Story: Not really a story line in this game. If youve played previous Maxis games you know why (and if you havent your about to find out). The purpose of the game is to create. So, the story is what you make of it. Want a guy with 7 wives? WHY NOT? You can do it in this game, but beware angry and jealous neighbors. Want to be a criminal that steals from the rich and keeps for himself? WHY NOT? This is The Sims, create your life and make it interesting.STORY: 10

Audio/Video: Graphics in this game ROCK. Some of the plants looked so real, I thought they were photographs. Everything from the Ghetto TV (my little nickname for the small monochrome TV on the little stand that costs $50) to the Kitchen Sink look realistic. And the music? The music is soothing when it needs to be and faster when it has to be. Speaking of music, got a favorite mp3? Stick it in the Music folder of the game, crank up the stereo in the game, and listen to your favorite tunes!AUDIO/VIDEO: 10

Replaybility: There is no real end to this game! Meaning that the replay is the actual game. Everything you do is replay. You will never get tired of this game as long as you have an open mind and dont have a short temper (because your Sims arent that smart).REPLAYBILITY: 10

To Buy or To Burn?: Although I have burned some games in my time, I recommend spending the $40 to buy this game. Reasons? First of all, if Maxis wants to continue with these quality games, they need to money. Second? Maxis is owned by EA. EA is owned by Squaresoft. Therefore, Money going to EA, also goes to Squaresoft. So Squaresoft can continue to make THE BEST GAMES (other than this and some other Sims)TO BUY OR TO BURN?: Spend the $40 and buy this gem of a game.

OVERALL: THIS GAME IS ALMOST AN EXACT DUPLICATE OF REAL LIFE, BUT MORE FUN. SPEND THE MONEY, BUY THE GAME, PLAY IT FOR A WHILE, GO TO SLEEP, WAKE UP THE NEXT MORNING, AND ''ACCIDENTLY'' PLAY FOR ABOUT EIGHT HOURS STRAIGHT.